Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty (Brain Talk: Conversations with Neuroscientists #1)

Have you ever felt absolutely sure about something you know or believe... only to find out you were absolutely wrong?

Where does that feeling of certainty come from? Why can't it always be trusted? The answer that emerging from neuroscience may surprise you.

In Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty Dr. Campbell explores both the origins of certainty, but also thHave you ever felt absolutely sure about something you know or believe... only to find out you were absolutely wrong?

Where does that feeling of certainty come from? Why can't it always be trusted? The answer that emerging from neuroscience may surprise you.

In Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty Dr. Campbell explores both the origins of certainty, but also the implications the emerging science.

In the tradition of physician writers like Oliver Sacks and Antonio Damasio, Dr. Ginger Campbell's clear and accessible writing style, makes this potentially complex subject accessible to readers of all backgrounds....more

Community Reviews

Dr. Ginger Campbell has been podcasting about Brain Science for over five and a half years. Since most of the episodes center around interviews with scientists and researchers with something to say on the topic, her 80-plus-episode podcast has become a wealth of fascinating information about the human brain and its processes from various fields and individual perspectives, made easily accessible to the layman. "Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty" is the first of what I hope to beDr. Ginger Campbell has been podcasting about Brain Science for over five and a half years. Since most of the episodes center around interviews with scientists and researchers with something to say on the topic, her 80-plus-episode podcast has become a wealth of fascinating information about the human brain and its processes from various fields and individual perspectives, made easily accessible to the layman. "Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty" is the first of what I hope to become many publications focusing in greater depth on concepts explored in the podcast.

"Are You Sure?" draws mainly from the ideas of neurologist Robert Burton, author of "On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not." Burton was interviewed twice by Campbell on the Brain Science Podcast, and her book includes a transcript of much of her conversation with him. In a nutshell, her book is about the uncertainty of certainty. In other words, we cannot fully rely on feelings of certainty as proof that we know the truth, because the sense of certainty, or absolute knowing, arises from neurological processes that do not and cannot have all the facts. No matter how absolutely certain we may feel about an issue or fact, the truth of the matter is that our brains did a certain amount of unconscious guesswork and then instead of telling us something to the effect of "I (your brain) estimate that this is around 90% likely to be true," send us a deep gut feeling of certainty. In evolutionary terms, this makes sense. An animal is far less likely to act and put itself in danger if it has any doubts about the necessity of acting. A mother bear charging a hunter to protect her cubs probably wouldn't react as fast, as decisively, or possibly at all, if she weren't absolutely certain that her cubs were in imminent danger. The problem in humans is that this causes us to be far less rational than we think we are. Religious wars are probably the most extreme case of this.

One idea in the book which intrigued me is the fact that apparently a significant number of people who remember where they were and what they were doing when Kennedy was assassinated, Challenger exploded, or 9/11 occurred apparently remember wrongly, despite their absolute certainty in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. In the case of the Challenger disaster, they disagree with the details of their own personal accounts of the incident written the day after it happened. I am too young to have existed when Kennedy was shot, but I certainly remember the other two, and I would be astonished to discover my memories of where I was when I found out about them are substantially wrong, but I am intrigued enough to try to verify them as far as I can. (Since you can't be certain of anything.)

I like the book, and it's definitely a must-read if you're specifically interested in the topic, but it's definitely not derived from the most fascinating discussion on Campbell's podcast. In fact, I wouldn't even put it in the top ten (according to my personal preference). For this reason, I eagerly await future publications by her....more

I was born in Seattle, Washington, but I have spent most of my life in Alabama, where I have worked as an emergency pyhysician for almost 20 years. But I am best know for my science-oriented podcasts: Books and Ideas and the Brain Science Podcast.

Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty is based on two of my favorite episodes of the Brain Science Podcast. I hope it will reach people whoI was born in Seattle, Washington, but I have spent most of my life in Alabama, where I have worked as an emergency pyhysician for almost 20 years. But I am best know for my science-oriented podcasts: Books and Ideas and the Brain Science Podcast.